1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data processing apparatus which is applicable to personal computers, small electric devices, etc., and which has a function of converting data into an image which can be visually displayed for visual display.
2. Description of Related Art
In application software used in a personal computer and in a small portable electric device called "electric scheduler," created data are visually displayed as an image in a display screen of displaying means of the device. A user looks at the image which is obtained by visualizing the data and grasps the contents of the data.
When the created data have a large quantity, at least one size of the image visualizing the data may become wider than the size of the display screen of a display apparatus in the same direction as that of the one size. A small electric device, in particular, has a small display screen, and therefore, the width of the image of the data becomes larger than the width of the display screen in many cases. For example, when data created on a personal computer or other machine are to be transmitted to and visually displayed in a small electric device, the size of an image of the data becomes larger than that of a display screen. Data to be transmitted may be a log of communications on a personal computer. In addition, when a map used in a navigation machine is to be visualized into an image and visually displayed in a small electric device, an image of the map becomes larger than the size of a display screen.
In some cases, in a small electric device, a display screen of a display apparatus is small and the quantity of data which can be visually displayed at a time in the display screen is small. For instance, the number of characters which can be visually displayed in a display screen may be smaller than in other machines. Hence, the size of an image of data often exceeds the size of a display screen, as described above.
When the size of an image of entire data is larger than the size of a display screen, only a portion of the (data is displayed in the display screen. A user may wish to visually display the data of the portion which is not displayed in the display screen, in such a condition. The user, therefore, scrolls the image of the data which is visually displayed in the display screen so that an image of the data which is not displayed is visually displayed in the display screen. Scrolling is not limited to an action of sequentially moving an image little by little in a direction which is specified by a user, but also includes an action of switching an image to another image.
A first conventional technique to instruct scrolling is related to an apparatus which instructs scrolling of an image by means of manipulation of a cursor key. A cursor key is on keyboard, for instance. Alternatively, a cursor key is set as-a visually displayed image which is displayed in a display screen. The cursor key is manipulated by clicking a mouse. "Clicking of a mouse" is an action in which a button of the mouse is operated with a cursor which follows the mouse located at the same display position as a predetermined image which is to be clicked within a display screen. A predetermined image is a character, for instance.
FIG. 28 is a diagram showing a display image 3 which includes an image 1, which is visually displayed data, and a cursor key 2. When data are visually displayed, such a display image 3 is displayed in a display screen of displaying data of a small electric device and a display screen of a display apparatus of a personal computer. The image 1 is obtained by visualizing a portion of data to be visually displayed into an image. The cursor key 2 is a virtual image including the image 1, and serves as a key for scrolling a virtual image which is obtained by visualizing the entire data to be visually displayed into an image. The cursor key 2 includes a left-hand direction key 2a, a right-hand direction key 2b, a forward direction key 2c, and a backward direction key 2d. The forward/backward direction is perpendicular to the right/left direction but is parallel to the display screen. For example, when the backward direction key 2d is operated only once, a display image 4 of FIG. 29 is displayed in the display screen instead of the display image 3 of FIG. 28.
An image 1a which is included in the display image 4 is an image which is obtained by scrolling the image 1 of the display image 3 one line in the forward direction. In the image 1a, an image 5 which used to be in a line which is displayed in the most forward portion of the image 1 is deleted, and instead, an image 6 of a new line is added to the most backward portion of the image. This line image 6 is an image which is included in the virtual image of the entire data, i.e., the image which used to be behind the image 1 within the virtual image. Thus, by manipulating the cursor key 2, the display image which is displayed in the display screen is changed and the data are sequentially visually displayed.
Further, in addition to a cursor key, as means for instructing scrolling, an designation area called "scroll bar" is set within the displayed screen in some cases. FIG. 30 is a diagram of a display image 7 which includes the designation area. The display image 7 includes images of designation areas 9, 10, in addition to an image 8 for visually displaying data within the display screen. In the designation areas 9, 10, the cursor key 2 described above is also set in some cases.
The designation areas 9, 10 are set along the direction of scrolling the image 8. The designation area 9 is an area for instructing scrolling of the image 8 in the forward/backward directions. The designation area 10 is an area for instructing scrolling of the image 8 in the right/left directions. A user clicks the cursor key 2 with a mouse, for instance, so that the image 8 is scrolled by a predetermined quantity of movement. In addition, when characters 9a, 10a set within the designation areas 9, 10 are clicked using the mouse while moving the mouse, the positions of the characters 9a, 10a within the designation areas 9, 10 are moved. As the characters 9a, 10a are moved, the image 8 is scrolled by the quantity the characters 9a, 10a are moved.
In this conventional apparatus, when instructing scrolling of an image, a user looks at the images 1, 8 which are displayed in the display screen, and determines tow much scrolling of the images 1, 8 is necessary in which direction in order to visually display data which are not visually displayed in the display screen. Next, the user looks at the cursor key 2 and the designation areas 9, 10 which are located in an area other than the area in which the images 1, 8 are displayed within the display screen. Following this, the user operates the cursor key 2 and the designation areas 9, 10 which are found, in a necessary direction by a necessary quantity, so that the images 1, 8 are scrolled. In this manner, this apparatus requires a user to determine a number of points before instructing scrolling, and therefore, quick operation for scrolling is difficult.
Further, in this apparatus, when scrolling is instructed, a direction which can be designated with one instruction is limited to a predetermined move direction. For example, when the cursor key 2 and the designation areas 9, 10 shown in FIGS. 28 to 30 are used to instruct scrolling, a move direction in which an image can be scrolled is limited to either one of two directions orthogonal to each other, i.e., the forward/backward direction and the right/left direction.
Therefore, when an image is to be scrolled in a diagonal direction which intersects both two directions, the image is scrolled in one of the forward/backward direction and the right/left direction first, and is then scrolled in the other one of the forward/backward direction and the right/left direction. For this reason, a user must re-evaluate the scroll quantity which is judged during instructing earlier into the move quantity in each one of the forward/backward direction and the right/left direction, and individually instruct the scroll quantity and the move quantity in each direction.
Further, when scrolling is instructed using the cursor key 2, the quantity an image moves in accordance with one instruction is kept to a constant quantity. Hence, to scroll an image by a necessary quantity of movement, it is necessary to repeat the same instruction which uses the cursor key 2, a plurality of times. Such an operation is a so-called digital operation, and therefore, does not always coincide with an analog-like operation which a user expects, such as to move an image in a diagonal direction by a desired quantity.
In addition, a display screen of displaying data of a small electric device, i.e., one example of the apparatus according to the present invention, is smaller than a personal computer. When the display image 7 is visually displayed in this device, the sizes of the designation areas 9, 10 become extremely smaller than when the display image 7 is visually displayed in a display apparatus of a personal computer. It is difficult to operate the scroll bars of the small designation areas 9, 10 to give an instruction of scrolling. With a small electric device in which inputting means is formed by overlaying a tablet on a display screen, in particular, it is difficult to accurately operate the tablet which is located at a position corresponding to a small scroll bar. Moreover, in the apparatus according to the present invention, since a tablet which is as large as or larger than the images 1, 8 is necessary, the tablet tends to be large. This makes it difficult to decrease the size of the product.
A second conventional technique related to scrolling of an image is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 5-94504 (1993). In an electric image processing apparatus disclosed in the publication, a digital tablet having a wider area than a display screen is set on the display screen as inputting means. A user designates a point within the area of the tablet, using a pen. For instance, the user moves the pen, from an area immediately above the display screen within the tablet toward an area which is in a peripheral portion of the display screen within the tablet but is outside the area which is located immediately above. When the pen arrives at the tablet in the peripheral portion of the display screen, a predetermined operation is executed on a displayed image, in accordance with the direction in which the pen moves.
If the direction in which the pen moves within the area of the tablet is a left-hand direction which extends from an area on the display screen toward a left-hand side peripheral portion of the area of the peripheral portion of the display screen, data which are displayed as an image are replaced. If the direction in which the pen moves is a right-hand direction, an image is scrolled. If the direction in which the pen moves is a backward direction, an image is expanded. If the direction in which the pen moves is a forward direction, this operation is ended and switched to a menu screen. Further, when instructed scrolling is executed, the speed an image is scrolled is determined in accordance with the pressure with which the tablet is pressed down with the pen during instructing.
In this electric image processing apparatus, after scrolling of an image is instructed, it is necessary to designate the direction and the quantity of scrolling once again, which is complex. In addition, in this apparatus, since a tablet which is equal to or larger than a display screen is needed, the tablet is large. This makes it difficult to decrease the size of the product.
The applicant of the present application has also proposed a technique for easily instructing scrolling, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 63-102461(1988). In an electric file apparatus of the publication, a tablet is set on a display screen of a CRT, as inputting means. In the display screen, a rectangular display region for visually displaying data is set to have a size smaller than the display screen. In the display region, an image visually showing a portion of data which are to be displayed is displayed. In an external peripheral portion of the display region, scroll designation areas are set. One scroll designation area is set in a peripheral portion of each side of the display region.
When a user wishes to newly visually display data other than the currently visually displayed portion of the data which are to be displayed, within a virtual image which virtually shows the entire data to be displayed as an image, the user operates a tablet which is in a portion which corresponds to the scroll designation area which is set in the same direction as a direction in which an image of the desired portion of the data exists as viewed from the image of the currently visually displayed portion of the data, so that scrolling of an image is instructed. For instance, when a tablet corresponding to the designation area which is set on the right-hand side of the display region is operated, the image which is displayed in the display region is scrolled in a direction from the right-hand side to the left-hand side.
Further, the applicant of the present application has proposed a technique for constantly displaying an operation designation area called "icon," in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication JP-A 61-7914 (1986). An icon is displayed as an image within a display screen. In the display apparatus of the publication, icons are printed and displayed on a transparent acrylic plate which is disposed over a display screen. A tablet which serves as an inputting unit is larger than the display screen, and has an area which is about the same as the size of the transparent acrylic plate. To designate an icon, a tablet which is in a portion which corresponds to the portion of the icon on the transparent acrylic plate is to be operated. When the tablet in this portion is operated, the apparatus performs an operation which corresponds to the icon.
In addition, in some of recent personal computers and portable small electric devices, an operation called "dragging" is performed. To perform dragging, a user executes pointing by pressing down a tablet which corresponds to a desired position within a display image, with a pen, for instance, and moves the pen without lifting up the pen. Alternatively, a user executes pointing by clicking a mouse at a desired position within the image, and moves the mouse. As a result of such an operation, an image which is displayed within the display screen moves as the pen and the mouse move. Dragging is often used when a plurality of window images overlap with each other in an apparatus which performs so-called window displaying, in order to move the window images. Dragging is an operation to move only an image within a display image, and therefore, it is difficult to move an image beyond the display image.